Dust mites are silent enemies: they cause allergies that affect the respiratory system and the skin and can pose a real health threat. From fabrics and mattresses to sofas and upholstery: here is a complete guide on how to eliminate them for good from every corner of your home with the help of Hoover household appliances. First and foremost, the cordless vacuum cleaner and its accessories.
Mites are ubiquitous bugs: they cover most part of home surfaces, including upholstery and fabrics.
However, not all species are harmful: only a small part – such as dust mites – can cause significant allergic reactions. Allergic reactions, skin problems and general health issues are all reasons why it’s important for sensitive subjects to get rid of dust mites.
Getting rid of dust mites for good is quite difficult: they reproduce extremely quickly and are hard to identify. However, their presence can be reduced significantly to make sure it’s below the allergy risk level.
Here is how to eliminated dust mites effectively, starting from the home spaces and surfaces on which they are most likely to settle.
How to eliminate dust mites: tips and tricks that are always applicable
The first step to getting rid of dust mites is reducing clutter in your home, as mites are attracted by warm, dark, and humid spaces. To avoid dust mite proliferation, it's important to make sure that your home is dry and well ventilated: the ideal humidity level should be around 50%.
Too much humidity encourages dust mite reproduction, but a dry environment encourages dust circulation. So make sure you don’t go from one extreme to another. It’s important to vacuum clean regularly, especially in the areas of your home where dust mites tend to settle more, such as carpets, curtains, mattresses, and furniture surfaces.
Which is the best cordless vacuum cleaner?
Nothing is better than a cordless vacuum cleaner to keep your house clean every day: HF9 by Hoover offers the perfect balance between run time and suction power, thanks to the high performance ensured by its brushless motor.
The innovative HF9 model with ANTI-TWIST guarantees 30 minutes of running time – enough to clean your entire home with a single battery charge, including in carpet mode, without losing suction – and has a premium display that allows you to switch easily between hard floor and carpet mode and gives you extra power with its Turbo mode.
Additionally, the accessories of the HF9 will help you clean every corner of your home. The 2 in 1 brush is perfect to remove dust from hard surfaces and curtains, while the crevice tool is ideal to reach confined and high spaces. HF9 mini-turbo is great to remove pet hair from upholstery and sofas: thanks to its LED light it helps identify dirt in dark and hidden spots. Lastly, the brush is easy to manoeuvre and is designed to reach the most awkward places such as underneath low furniture.
How to eliminate dust mites form your bedroom
If you find yourself sneezing during the night, if your skin itches or your eyes water, this is likely to be because dust mites have settled in your bed!
How do you get rid of them? The ideal solution, when choosing a mattress, is to buy an anti dust mite mattress. However, if you already have a mattress, here are some tips and good practices you can adopt to remove dust mites from your mattress.
- Don’t make your bed immediately after you get up, instead air the room as much as possible.
- Always use mattresses and pillows with removable covers and wash them in hot water at minimum 60°C, if possible using Care Plus Protect concentrated ecological and hypoallergenic laundry detergent.
- Vacuum clean your bedroom every day to stop dust from accumulating and, in any case, at least once per week.
- Also make sure your pets are always clean because their hair carries dust mites. The HF9 Pet model features a mini-turbo brush ideal if you have pets, as it deep cleans upholstery, sofas, and stair carpets.
How to eliminate dust mites from your mattress
Dust mites love settling in beds, and mattresses are their favourite hiding places: this is because mattresses are not washed often, therefore dust mites are free to multiply undisturbed, feeding on the dead skin flakes our bodies shed while we sleep.
How can you tell if you have dust mites in your mattress?
Dust mites on your mattress: most common signs
Dust mites are invisible, they don’t bite and don’t sting. The substances that cause allergies are the enzymes contained in their excrements which mixed with household dust accumulate, especially on mattresses and pillows, and can reach up to 2 million. At night they are moved around and come in contact with the skin or are breathed in, triggering allergic reactions in the respiratory system or on the skin.
The most common sign of the presence of dust mites on the mattress is a red dotted rash on the skin. Unstoppable sneezing when waking up and dry cough during the night are also common symptoms. Other symptoms may include stuffy, itchy, blocked, or runny nose, respiratory problems, tiredness, especially in the case of people allergic to dust mites.
How to sanitize the mattress against dust mites?
Is it true that only steam kills dust mites?
Does steam kill dust mites? No, quite the opposite. Contrary to common belief, the use of steam on mattresses is not recommended: the humidity captured by the fibres provides the ideal environment for mites, mould, and fungi. The use of steamers is counter-productive: a mattress cleaner is a much better choice.
Cleaning your mattress with a vacuum cleaner
Ultra Vortex is the mini vacuum cleaner for upholstery, ideal for allergy sufferers, thanks to its UV-C lamp. The lamp’s radiations are effective against micro-organisms, therefore ideal to sanitise mattresses, cushions, pillows and upholstery, preventing skin problems, asthma, and allergies.
Hoover’s mattress vacuum cleaner has 3 modes for thorough cleaning: vacuum function, roll & beat, and UV lamp, which can kill up to 99.9% of bacteria, allergens, and dust mites, as well as prevent their return.
Cleaning your mattress with a vacuum cleaner, even better when using the HEPA filter, turning it over and rotating it regularly to prevent dust mites form settling in one place, are other steps you should take to sanitise your mattress and keep your home environment healthy and clean.